Having just moved down here from my home of San Francisco, I am attempting to test out the 21+ scene as much as possible. So far, I’ve got 3 down. This past Sunday, I hit up Cinespace; usually known because of the famed Dim Mak Tuesdays. Packed full of hipsters, Cinespace features three different genres of music at once. The entrance room plays house/electro, the smoking room is hip hop, and if you make it through that, down the hall towards the back you enter a large room, full of swanky lounge chairs and tables. Not you’re average concert area. What is nice about this venue is that you can move freely from room to room. I came to see the band Brave Citizens, a group that hail (mainly) from Nor Cal. With their anthemic pop/rock songs and catchy lyrics, their shows generally are full of girls that range from 16-20, so for a 21+ crowd, I didn’t expect to see their usual die-hards. With a schedule that could tire out Paris Hilton, vocalist Andrew Capra still couldn’t have sung better. Another plus for me was watching guitarist Adam Bialik switch back and forth from guitar to keys. His guitar playing really grabs you and gets you involved in the music. After their set, and then after we “Thriller” danced in the main room, I asked Capra and Bialik about their constant touring, and dealing with the distance of the band (Bialik is finishing his last quarter at UC Santa Cruz while Capra is over yonder at UC Irvine.) The road is lonely and tough. For the last few years, it seemed like these boys were always on tour, and it becomes difficult, especially as a student to keep up. “You don’t even know how many favors iv’e asked my professors for over the years,” comments Bialik. But the hard work pays off; they have been named Unsigned Band of the Year by Alternative Press Magazine. Absolute Punk refers to them as the “undeniably handsome duo that churns out moody, dark, indie pop that’s hard to dislike.” All in all, anytime these boys come through town, I’ll be sure to be there. 

-Kelsie, Intern